I’ve decided after a quick search on the Internet to declare to the world that hair bobbles are very dangerous objects from the domestic cat’s point of view. It’s a product which is very useful to humans but a product which is very dangerous to cats. A clash of two different worlds. This kind of …
Hair bobbles (hair ties) are dangerous to cats as too often they like to ingest them Read More »
Yesterday I was reading an article about a woman who habitually eight matchsticks for years. Yes, she ate unused matches. It struck me, as I am sure it would other people, as bizarre and disturbing. But she was diagnosed with iron deficiency. There was a simple cure. A sad story. In feline terms she was …
I had never seen a cat playing the guitar with his mouth before. Plucking the strings with his teeth. I don’t expect you have either. It has a certain musicality about it, which I am sure you appreciate ?. It seems that the cat’s owner placed his camera inside the guitar, in which case he …
It’s become quite well known that the family of Oriental cat breeds which includes the Siamese, Javanese and Oriental shorthair and longhair (and other breeds), are susceptible to developing eating non-nutritious substances, which is called pica, and in particular fabric. The big question is what causes it. And the small answer is that the experts …
Here are five pictures of kittens sucking on their thumbs. Thumb sucking in kittens is the same as human babies sucking their thumbs. It is an act which is comforting and which reduces stress. Sometimes human babies suck their thumbs when going to sleep. Seeing it in kittens reminds us how similar domestic cats are …
A small-scale study conducted in Norway came to the conclusion that one in ten Siamese cats were regularly aggressive towards people, compared to one in twenty random bred cats and one in sixty Persian cats. In this study the cats’ personalities were recorded by their owners rather than objectively observed by a third party. This …
Are Siamese cats more aggressive than other cats? Read More »
What does pica eating disorder stand for? Answer, it does not stand for anything in this context. It is a word rather than an acronym. Although it is an acronym for a dozen or so organisations such as ‘Prudential Insurance Company of America’. The origin of the word confirms that it is not an acronym. …
Why does my cat eat soil? Dr Fogle DVM tells us in Complete Cat Care that, ‘Some anaemic cats lick bricks or concrete, or eat litter or soil’. There you have it; your cat might be eating soil because he/she is anaemic but what is the link between anaemia and eating soil and what causes …
I’m discussing domestic cats and whether they can get eating disorders, a definition of which is “…a range of psychological disorders characterised by abnormal or disturbed eating habits….’ What are we referring to? I have a feeling that some websites get mixed up about the subject. In discussing eating disorders we have to discuss psychological …
This may be a sign that a lion or lions in Kruger NP are suffering from pica. Either an individual lion or some members of a pride of lions are gnawing on visitors’ car tyres causing them to explode. This is completely abnormal and bizarre behavior and it is causing consternation among the Kruger National …
I had no idea that kittens sometimes suck their thumbs. It is probably unusual but this video is good evidence it happens and it confirms that cats seek pacifiers just like people.
Fabric chewing and eating in cats may be the equivalent of thumb sucking in infant humans. The process is soothing and may occur when the cat is stressed. Babies suck their thumbs to soothe themselves. Siamese, Burmese and the Oriental cat breeds are known to be susceptible to engaging in a particular form of pica …
Fabric chewing in cats may be like thumb sucking in infants Read More »
This is the story of a serval with a mental health problem called pica, which is made all the more strange because the story comes from the magazine of the Feline Conservation Federation (FCF). FCF is a group of wild cat species experts and the articles in the magazine are often quite technical and written …
by Michael (London, UK) Cats like to eat grass – Photo by Irregular Shed (Flickr) Pica in cats means eating non-nutritional objects. Pica can affect any animal including the human animal. It affects dogs more that cats1. The condition’s name comes from the Latin word for magpie, a bird which is reputed to eat almost …
